No Stage Needed
by The Eccentric
Summary: The thought never crossed his mind that she would take him up on his offer, but here they were. Though the night he had imagined never actually happened and they were stuck dealing with the aftermath. While one Horseman is less vocal, another is lacking in their usual tack. A story told in three acts and two intermissions.
1. First Act

**consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

* * *

**.**

**.**

**first act**

**.**

**.**

* * *

.

.

The thought never crossed his mind that she would take him up on his offer, but here they were.

"So we are really going to do this then?" Merritt said mostly to himself, ignoring the amused glance Henley gave him. Shaking his head, he took one last swig from his lukewarm beer before placing it on the bedside take with a grimace. Moving from his seat on the corner of the bed, he stood in front of the younger redhead. The much younger redhead.

"I can't believe you're choosing now, of all times, to be shy." A sly grin graced her lips as she teased playfully. She took a long moment to stand, knowing fully well that his eyes were carefully following her movements, and used that fact to her advantage. A slight shake of her hair, a small tug to right her shirt, and a quick smoothing motion down the thighs to rid the nonexistent wrinkles from her skirt. Each movement was executed with intent.

She had been a magician's assistant and Henley was nothing less than prepared to draw the eye to exactly where she wanted it to be.

"So what? You don't want to be a corkscrew then?" As she spoke, Merritt took the opportunity to scrutinize her. The rigid way she held her shoulders, the way her teeth pulled at her bottom like, and ever so often her fingers would fidget nervously. Inwardly, he sighed.

"Now don't assume that and would you kindly stop trying to psych me out," he defended as he caught what she was trying to do. "I have absolutely no problem being a corkscrew, but you. You, seem to have a little problem with it."

"I do not!" Henley sighed exasperatedly. "This is from when we all first met, isn't it? If you think it has to do with Danny, then you can hang it up because you're wrong. Use you mentalist thing if you want."

Merritt gave the woman a hard stare, his lips quirking up slightly as he finally spoke, "Well you're not lying about that. Absolutely nothing to do with Atlas. Let's talk about the...ah...there it is, the casual sex bit then. Something you're not really comfortable with?"

"If I wasn't comfortable with it, why would I be here?" Henley protested, arms crossing. A light flush dusted her cheeks as her brow furrowed slightly, Merritt found reading her almost too easy.

"And now you're fighting with yourself to admit to it," he commented, feeling more at ease than before. For the moment, he had the upper hand.

"Okay, feel free to stop doing the mind thing, please."

"That wasn't the mind thing actually, but you can tell me the truth, Henley. We're friends...buds...amigos even! We've trusted each other this long. You won't be the first woman that decided they don't want to have sex with me."

"Friends don't have sex," she pointed out with a sigh. A hand ran through her hair in exasperation.

"Sure they do. Besides, you know it's going to be good, otherwise you would have never agreed to it. I mean, I'm older, handsome, and very experienced." Henley snorted, and he noted a bit of the tension leave her shoulders. "So let's take it slow. Have a few more drinks as friends and if it happens, then it happens. If it doesn't...well, your loss." Throwing in a wink, Merritt was happy to see the easy smile back on the painted lips of his companion.

"Fine, but just a few. I do not want a repeat performance of my last hangover."

Merritt chuckled as he moved through the small apartment towards the kitchen, Vegas had been a good time before their First Act. Waking up with hangovers after almost every show seemed to do the worst number on Henley though.

"Fine, but take off those damn shoes first. You're here to relax, not to grind on a pole," Merritt called over his shoulder as he pulled two more beers from the refrigerator and decided that the harder stuff could wait. Smirking to himself, he also decided that tonight was not a good night to be making double entendres.

"Well, I thought that's exactly what I was here for." Henley had followed him from the bedroom, bare feet padding against the hardwood floor. She stopped to lean against the side of the archway, holding her hand out for one of the beers. Merritt handed her the chilled glass bottle without a second thought, watching as she popped the metal cap off with ease.

"Jokes are good. We are just two friends having a beer," Merritt grinned, popping open his own bottle and clinking it against hers in a silent cheers. Both took a long nip of the ice cold beverages.

"Two friends with the intentions of having sex after drinks," Henley called over her shoulder as she turned walking away, chuckling to herself the entire way to the couch.

"Oh, come now, Miss Reeves. Let's keep our minds out of the gutter," he chided jokingly, following her lead into the living room.

"Quite right, Mr. McKinney. Our bodies are much better suited for that kind of task, wouldn't you agree?" she teased right back. Though her discomfort for the situation was clear, Merritt nearly choked in surprise at her response. It took him a few minutes of rough coughing to rid himself of the near drowned feeling.

"You really don't have to do that, you know," he croaked, throat sore from the sudden coughing fit.

"Do what?" Henley shot him a curious glance, stilling her movements to wait for his reply. The polished edge of her bottle rested lightly on her bottom lip.

"Make jokes like that. It just makes you even more uncomfortable than you already are. I get that you're trying to defuse this tension that isn't really there, but it's only making you more nervous. You're still young, kid. so it's perfectly reasonable for you to be uncomfortable." Merritt paused to make sure the point had gotten across before he added in a lighter tone, "Besides being comfortable with sex comes when you're old, unattractive, and don't give a damn. Kind of like me."

"Oh come on, Merritt. You aren't old," Henley protested despite the deep scarlet hue her skin had taken on. She took another long drag from her bottle before sitting it down on the coffee table in front of her.

"Miss Reeves, you and I both know that I am old enough to be your father." Henley gave her companion a skeptical look. "Okay, fine. Your much older uncle," he amended, chuckling to himself.

"Alright, I'll take it," she laughed as well. Looking away deliberately, Henley took a deep breath to calm herself as she rearranged her sitting position. Placing her feet upon the couch and folding her legs against her chest, she locked her arms around her ankles. Finally, she placed her chin upon her knees, so she was facing the chair Merritt currently occupied.

"So bad idea then?" he filled in the silence for her and the red head heaved a sigh. Almost immediately, she lifted her head back up to protest once more, but was cut off as Merritt spoke again. "Well thank God for little favors then. Can't say that I'm really in the mood anyways. Do you want to know what I am in the mood for though?"

Henley didn't answer this time; thoroughly embarrassed, she watched as he leaned forward looking for something among the newspapers and books that littered the coffee table. With a quiet exclamation of 'Ah-ha!', he lifted an extremely worn looking deck of cards from its place under the business section. With a sly smile, he gestured towards the cards in his hand.

"I'm not nearly as crafty with these as Jack or Danny-boy, but how about a game?"

"You know, as long as the game doesn't involve throwing them at a wall and hoping they stick, I think you'll be just fine." Her lip quirked up slightly as she pointed out thoughtfully.

"Good point. So what's your poison, Miss Reeves?" he asked, fanning out the cards with ease.

"Bullshit," she replied with a grin, past embarrassment pushed to the back of her mind.

"I have to say, it's a lot more fun to say when someone begins performing Violin Concerto," he comments as he begins shuffling the deck. Henley can't help but to laugh and agree at the thought.

* * *

I didn't realize that FFN already had an archive for NYSM and it makes me so happy. I personally prefer FFN to Ao3, and since I've already put the progress thus far onto Ao3 I figured I can go ahead an post it here as well.


	2. First Intermission

**consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

* * *

**.**

**.**

**first intermission**

**.**

**.**

* * *

"So where'd you disappear to last night in such a rush?" Danny pinned her with a stare- or attempted to- over the top of the menu he was pretending to scan. Behind her sunglasses, Henley rolled her eyes. She kept her focus on the building across the street that they had been assigned to watch for their next big performance. One of the regulars rounded the corner and making his way up the stairs to the entrance returning from lunch right on time. She carefully made a note on her phone before turning back to her current companion.

"Out," she supplied shortly, hoping that their waiter would reappear soon. This morning she was only able to stomach a piece of dry toast and coffee (plus a small shot of whiskey to knock the edge off her hangover, but she isn't counting that), so her hunger levels were quickly approaching ravenous.

"Out? Really, Henley? You were already out, remember? At my place," he huffed, dropping his menu to the table to stare her down. "We were supposed to be talking about this. We're not getting anything out of it, we need to change our plan."

"We need to keep doing to what Dylan told us, he hasn't lead us astray yet, has he Danny?" Henley sighed, pushing her shades to rest on top of her head. She gave Daniel a contemptuous look, pursing her lips as she waited for him to say something.

"Fine, we keep watching a dead-end lead until Rhodes gives us another task to keep us distracted," he replied, distaste lacing his voice as he uttered the words. With no problem he focused on their previous subject. "So where'd you go 'out' to?"

"To play cards with a friend," she informed him easily. She could see their waiter making rounds and hopefully, before Daniel could start his round of Twenty-One questions, she would get something to eat soon. Just two more tables between her and actually ordering.

"When did you start playing cards?" The questions wouldn't stop now that they had begun, that's just how Daniel Atlas worked. Henley also knew that when the questions did stop it was for one of two reasons: 1) Danny became very displeased with the answers or 2) the person being questioned just flat-out walked away. She had been in both situations in the past and though she honestly had no desire to rehash either outcome, there wasn't really a choice. Hopefully, she could play it by ear and make it out of the conversation without wanting to strangle a magician.

"When I was a kid, I would play Go Fish," she shrugged, eyes still watching the waiter take his sweet time. Henley hoped the two ladies being chatted up by the waiter left a decent tip, because if he didn't hurry up she probably wouldn't be leaving anything other than the change from their bill.

"Uh-huh. So you were out playing Go Fish until five in the morning?" The expected cynicism had dripped from his words and Henley could already feel her goal of not wanting to inflict bodily harm on the smug bastard across from her slip further and further away.

Turning away from interior of the cafe (mostly watching the waiter continue to talk up the two women), Henley stared back across the street at the offices they were to be watching. If she was right, another employee would be returning to the office within the next few minutes from their long lunch break. Much to her chagrin, Daniel waited patiently for her to reply. While the traffic sped by loudly, Henley couldn't help but wish the noise was loud enough to drown out their conversation.

"It was a tough hand," she finally offered, taking another note in her phone before sipping on her water.

"Jack said you looked hung over," he stated almost immediately and Henley cursed herself for forgetting her run in with Jack before dawn. It had been an awkward elevator ride, but at the time she was just thankful he hadn't said anything. Not because she was a mess, but because the elevator music had aggravated the pounding in her head enough at the time.

"We had a little help in making a round a Go Fish challenging," Henley supplied proudly. Thus far she hadn't had to lie or even turn to half-truths, being vague on details was working just fine. From the corner of her eye, she saw the waiter finally leave the two women alone and move along to the next table. For once, luck might actually be in Henley's favor when it came to Daniel Atlas.

"So who's this mystery person you were playing with anyways?"

She had spoken too soon.

She knew Danny and Merritt had their differences and that they could get along in that begrudged man way if need be; but while Merritt didn't actually have too much of a problem with Daniel, Daniel flat-out didn't care for Merritt. Henley suddenly had a feeling that while Daniel might be annoyed (or possible jealous) due to her response, he probably wouldn't pull out the silent treatment like normal.

No, Henley had a hunch that she would hear all about this one for a while.

But it's better to get it over with rather than drag it out, right?

"I'm so sorry for your wait! Are the two of you ready to order or do you need a few more minutes?"

Their waiter might actually have the best timing ever, Henley surmised. She smiled sweetly up at him, forgiving him for prolonging her hunger in favor of hitting on customers. Daniel leveled a glare in her direction as he picked his menu back up so he could order.

Of course, it only took a few moments to place their orders and the waiter left the two of them alone once more. Henley sighed.

"Well?" Daniel looked to her with smug expectancy. He had directly asked for that particular detail so she couldn't give a vague answer and get away with it. The worst part is that he knew that.

"Fine, I give up. I was hanging out with Merritt," Henley mock surrendered, hoping to appease him by stroking his ego. Maybe he wouldn't throw too much of a fit.

"You ditched me to hang out with him?" The flat tone of disbelief almost startled Henley, but she knew exactly what was coming next.

"Actually, I changed his and my original plans to go to your place." It was a lie, but flat-out admitting that she had ditched Danny to go to Merritt's seemed like a bad route to travel. Daniel gave her a hard look, she wasn't sure if he was trying to pick apart a lie or just starting his silent treatment.

"You really shouldn't be hanging around with that guy alone," he finally commented, deep frown on his face.

"Just because you don't like him—"

"It's not just because the two of us don't get along," Daniel cut in briskly. Henley pulled a tight frown of annoyance at being interrupted, it was one of her biggest pet peeves and Daniel was well aware of that.

"So then what is it? Are you jealous or something?" she whispered this fiercely, as she saw their waiter approach from the corner of her eye. There was no reason to start a scene when they were supposed to be gathering information. Thankfully, Daniel did the courteous thing waiting for the waiter to sit down the light meals they had ordered and scurry away (probably to check on the two women from before) before answering.

"What's there to be jealous of? Besides the guy is a con artist. He hustles people for a living. You can't trust him and as your friend I don't want you to get screwed over by the guy," he hissed back in a particularly nasty tone.

"You cannot be serious, Daniel. He's probably a better friend than you have been in a very long time and it's my place to decide who I want to trust. And as a matter of fact, I do trust him," she shot back with no little animosity.

"Can we just leave the past in the past, Henley? This is not what this conversation is about," exasperation had ebbed into Daniel's voice and Henley felt like his assistant once more. Annoyance mingled with anger as she stood abruptly.

"Well then I suggest you leave this topic alone because this conversation is over." Her words were very carefully measured with a nearly cloying sweet tone that could only be perceived as negative.

Without even touching the soup she had ordered, Henley tossed a few bills onto the table and stalked towards the door. Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, she heard cursing and the rattling of suddenly disturbed dishware from behind her. Pushing open the door, she could easily hear the quick footsteps on the wood floor following her and the soft, petulant call of her name, filling her with a nostalgia that she didn't care for at all. As Henley stepped out on the street, she slid the sunglasses back into their proper place as she set off.

Daniel Atlas pushed open the cafe door with a quick and rush out onto the crowded sidewalk. He took in his surroundings, searching for the particular redhead among the faces that passed by with no avail. He sighed, a mixture of frustration and defeat furrowing his brow. He hadn't expected anything different once she had stood and even though she had only been a few feet ahead of him, he hadn't had a chance of catching her.

Henley Reeves was a top-notch escape artist, even when there was no stage.


	3. Second Act

**consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

* * *

**.**

**.**

**second act**

**.**

**.**

* * *

Gathering at Jack's apartment had been Rhode's idea, so one would expect him to actually show up on time. Of course, your expectations, more often than not, are never met. In this case, Dylan Rhodes was more than an hour late to his own meeting and hadn't even called much to the dismay of the restless performers.

Henley scrolled through her phone, keeping a careful eye on Daniel. Almost immediately after arriving, he had drawn Jack into a hushed conversation. The topic itself was rather obvious as they would often gesture or cut their eyes in either her or Merritt's direction. Though, she would give Merritt some credit as he did a fine job of ignoring the two, flipping through a book he had found abandoned (and apparently forgotten if Jack's expression upon seeing the book indicated anything) under the loveseat.

She, on the other hand, was having an extremely difficult time. Every little glance and the slightest of gestures was starting to try her nerves. Henley was fairly certain that the next time Danny tried to sneak a peek in her general direction she wouldn't be able to hold her tongue. She was not disappointed with a long wait, as only seconds later Daniel's eyes started to slide from Merritt towards her. Her mouth pulled into a tight frown, ready to verbally abuse someone if the chance arose and since it was Daniel Atlas, that opportunity was guaranteed.

"Henley," Merritt's voice cut into the tension that surrounded her and immediately her eyes (along with two other sets) turned towards him curiously. Merritt seemed to wait to continue until he was certain everyone's attention was on him, despite the fact he was addressing her alone. "Why don't you come over here so we can have a friendly chat like those two?"

As an extra measure (meant to antagonize Daniel, she was positive) he patted the cushion next to him, giving her a lazy smile.

Stretching her stiff arms over her head as she stood, a small smile tugged at her lips, "Since they're obviously not scrambling to include us, we might as well."

Henley tucked her phone into her pocket as she strode across the room, very aware of the stare that was currently burning into the back of her head. Slipping off her flats, she positioned herself indian style with her back leaning against the armrest of the loveseat facing Merritt.

So they could have their own private conversation without eaves droppers, Henley smirked inwardly.

Both of them ignored the glare Daniel was shooting their way with ease while Jack was quick to draw him back into their conversation.

"So what's got him in a pissier mood than usual?" Merritt breaks their silence quietly, placing the book on the back of the small sofa.

"Well, you'll never guess who I ran into on the elevator coming home the other night," Henley ignored his question as she remarked flatly.

"Well, considering the only people that you know here, sans our fearless leader, are in this room and I wasn't nearly drunk enough to black out that severely, it wasn't me. Daniel had that hot date, which probably ended much later than that and since Jack lives conveniently in the same building as you. I think I'll have to go with...Arthur Tressler?" Merritt gave her a crooked grin, feigning a wince of pain as she smacked his arm lightly.

Rolling her eyes, she decided to debunk his so-called guess. "Jack came walking in right as the elevator door was about to close, but I'd almost rather it had been Tressler."

"At least with him, you wouldn't have felt bad for letting the door close on him," Merritt agreed and Henley chuckled softly.

"That's true."

"So they're gossiping about where their favorite girlfriend was all night," Merritt guessed in a childish tone, quirking an eyebrow in her direction. "And judging on the looks they've been giving you, I'd have to say the story they've come up with must be scandalous."

"That's pretty much it. Except they're a little more informed than that," Henley commented dryly. "They're probably gossiping a little about you too, just so you know."

"Then I'm assuming you spilled your guts on day six of the stakeout with Mr. Atlas." Merritt nudged her knee playfully. He continued a few seconds later, raising his voice loud enough so the other two could hear him clearly. "You women and your incessant need to share the details of your nights of passion with your friends."

He tsked her jokingly and Henley couldn't help but to snort loudly from amusement. Her laughter continued once she noticed the mixture of shock and disgust that graced Daniel's face and the sheer dumbfoundedness that Jack mustered in the situation.

"It's all in the cards, Merritt. They are a magician's first love," Henley commented once she calmed her laughter, though it threatened to bubble back up at the slightest instance.

"I'm pretty sure you were cheating the last few games though," Merritt accused her offhandedly, grinning back in her direction.

"Pretty sure? A card fell out of my glove the last round we played!" Her laughing had started once more at the reminder of the drunken antics.

"I wasn't sure if it had actually happened or if was just a weird dream," he admitted with a shrug. "But now I know you did for sure."

"Hey! You were using you mentalism the first few games so don't even talk to me about cheating!" Henley exclaimed good naturedly. The two shared a good laugh and their conversation lulled for a few minutes, this allowed the other two to delve back into their own conversation. More than likely, the recent development would be added into whatever equation they were trying to solve for.

"So I'm guessing he didn't take the news very well then?" Merritt turned back to her after a second.

Henley shrugged, her lip lifting in a half sneer. "More like he tried to play twenty questions while I was attempting to telepathically get our waiter to bring me food. Though he definitely wasn't pleased when I stopped ducking the questions with vague answers."

"Never get between a woman and food. You know, I heard a really great joke about that the other day. I can't really remember it, but the punchline has something to do with trapdoors," he teased, Henley pulled a scowl and punched his shoulder with the intent to inflict pain. Merritt rubbed the spot, feeling a bruise would be coming on there the next day. "Alright, alright. Out of line. So what happened with Atlas then?"

"Well he said I shouldn't trust you and as my friend he doesn't want to see me hurt." Merritt snorted. "So I essentially told him to leave it alone and walked out without getting to eat. I can't help that I get cranky when I'm hungry."

"You could've stayed for more than just toast, you know," he pointed out before continuing. "Did he at least follow you and try to use his asshole-esque charm on you?"

"Well of course he did, silly. It's part of the whole Atlas schtick. Offend someone enough to walk away and then follow them like acting like they're the ones at fault," Henley explained, her nose wrinkling as she pulled a cheeky face.

"So what did he say when he followed you?"

"Well... he managed a rather whiny rendition of my name and then I reminded him that I'm a class act escapist," she concluded, the cheeky expression still on her face.

"I can't say that I blame you for that, but I am somewhat surprised that the kid hasn't cornered you today," Merritt went on to say as he cast a look across the room. Daniel was talking Jack's ear off once more, but the younger man was obviously hanging on every word with interest.

"I think he got the point that I didn't want to speak to him after I screened all his calls last night," Henley confided, following Merritt's gaze and watching the two momentarily as well.

"How many times did he call?"

"Many. Very, very many. What do you think they're talking about?" she questioned, both of their eyes still on Daniel and Jack.

"Well I imagine that Atlas is going on about himself. Something along the lines of: 'I just switched hair products. I think it give my hair more volume' or something," Merritt emphasized his impression by pitching his voice up a few octaves to mock their fellow magician. Henley snorted, trying to contain her laughter as quietly as she could.

"If Jack ever gets a word in edgewise he'd probably say something like, 'Yeah, your hair looks great, man. Doesn't matter what you do to it. Wow. You're so great,'" Henley in turn had faked a deeper voice to mimic the younger man.

"I am great, aren't I?" Merritt continued in his Daniel voice.

"You really are. That's why I idolize you," Henley chimed in, finding this more amusing than she really should.

"Then perhaps you should get some better taste."

"Better taste? There's someone better than Daniel Atlas out there?"

"It sounds like complete bullshit, but it's true. There's always Merritt McKinney." Merritt waggled his eyebrows in her direction and she rolled her eyes in response.

"That guy you really just don't like? Oh come on, Daniel. What about Henley?" The grin on her face grew larger with each turn they took.

"Her? Told her she couldn't fit through a trapdoor like an idiot and she left me. Damn escape artists."

"Wow, that was really stupid."

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side here."

"I am, but didn't your mother ever tell you to watch what you say?"

"Probably, but I was too busy to pay attention.

"What were you doing?"

"Oh, mostly staring at myself in the mirror. Thinking about how great I am."

Henley lost it, peals of laughter escaped her. Merritt allows himself to chuckle and they once again gain the attention of their fellow Horsemen.

"Henley," a mock whisper only fueled her laughter even more, but Merritt continued. "Act normal, we're being watched, but I think I figured out what they've been talking about."

Wiping at her eyes carefully, Henley glances at the Daniel and Jack looking rather confused from the corner of her eye. "Really?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they've been talking about," Merritt paused for the dramatic effect. "Us."

Henley gasps and leans into his shoulder. "It makes perfect sense! The whispering, the glances, the not inviting us to join the conversation."

Merritt wraps his arm around the red head, patting her shoulder comfortingly. Henley just laughs into his shoulder at the entire situation. This has gotten way out of control and everyone just needs to start acting normal again. Everyone being Daniel Atlas.

"I know this is difficult for you, Henley, but I'm here for you in anyway that you need."

Sending a joking wink in the others' direction is what finally jump starts a conversation.

Well, less of a conversation and more of a confrontation.

"Do you really think that's appropriate considering we work together?" Atlas finally said aloud through gritted teeth.

"It's good for a working relationship," Merritt affirmed easily, his arm still around Henley, though she was no longer laughing. Daniel's lips pulled down into a frown.

"You should stop being a perverted, old man and start acting professional then. That's how professional relationships are supposed to work," he continued. Next to him, Jack looked uncomfortable at the sudden tension.

"Daniel!" Henley scolded, but she went ignored.

"Do you have references that can attest to all of these functional professional relationships that you've apparently had?" Merritt inquired sardonically. "Why don't we ask Miss Reeves? The two of you did work together, after all."

"Leave her out of this," Daniel snapped. "Better yet, just leave her alone. She doesn't need a guy like you trying to take advantage of her."

"Is this coming from a concerned friend or a guy that's taken advantage before?" Merritt raised an eyebrow at the younger magician, now standing. "Or...someone that might be looking to take advantage in the future seems to be the most accurate."

"Seriously guys, there's no reason for this," Jack tries to say in attempt to diffuse the tension, a hand on Daniel's arm attempting to get him back into his chair.

"He's right, Daniel. This is no one's business. I can't believe that it's even being discussed. We've just been joking around," Henley agrees, sounding a bit annoyed at the sudden hostility of the situation.

"It's really a shame that a lady such as yourself had to bear witness to this dick's tantrum," Merritt had turned to tell Henley, patting her knee lightly.

Daniel ripped his arm from Jack's grasp and was across the room. Merritt was quick to push Henley away as Daniel's arm reared back and his fist struck his face with a dull crack.

Immediately, Daniel cradled his now pained hand while Merritt carefully pressed a hand to his face, silently lamenting yet another bruise that would become evident in the morning. Henley was already yelling at Daniel for being an idiot while Jack had sunk back into his chair with a sigh.

In the doorway, an astounded Rhodes stood. Behind him, Alma peeked over his shoulder, bewilderment etched into her features.

"What the hell is going on here?"

* * *

**This one was really fun to write for some reason. I had originally planned to finish it tomorrow, but I didn't want to stop because I was amused by the way the situation was playing out (it kind off tangent from what I had planned in the outline).**

**Just so you know, I'm thinking there might be two Intermission chapters...Just considering it. I don't know yet, it's still up in the air. **  
**Hopefully, you enjoyed the Second Act and will check back for the Second Intermission (and soon after the Final Act)**


	4. Second Intermission(The Lobby)

**consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

* * *

**.**

**.**

**second intermission**

**(the lobby)**

**.**

**.**

* * *

"I can't believe I just got thrown out of my own place," Jack laments as he sinks into Henley's couch. The leather couch squeaks lowly as he leans his head back and stares up at the ceiling with a sigh. Alma shoots the redhead a worried look, so Henley offers her a small smile as she takes a seat next to the younger man with the intention of making him feel better about the situation. It's not everyday you get kicked out of your own apartment.

Just minutes ago, the three of them had been ushered (pushed) out of Jack's front door and the door slammed in their faces. Leaving Rhodes inside with Daniel, who very well might have broken his hand, and Merritt, who would probably never let Daniel live that down if he had broken something. To be fair, Alma had already been standing in the hallway when Dylan pretty much dumped the two non-feuding Horsemen on her without so much as a word before retreating back into the tension filled room. The three of them stood right outside the door, sharing quizzical glances for a couple of minutes, in hope that they might actually hear some of what was happening inside. When they heard nothing coming from inside the apartment, Henley turned and started away, followed by the two others. Since Henley and Jack rent in the same building, it was only logical for them to trek up two flights of stairs and bide their time in the comfort of her apartment, waiting to find out what exactly is going on in 4C.

Henley pats his leg lightly and attempts to lighten his mood with a joke, "Don't worry too much about it. Unless, you know, you value the breakables."

Jack laughs weakly, shaking his head as he closes his eyes. Henley starts to think that perhaps he's less perturbed by being pushed out his own door and more concerned with the state of the other two magician's relationship. When he says nothing in return, she tries to fill the silence.

"Besides, you're probably better off here anyways. Rhodes is probably letting them fight it out or chewing them out as we speak," Henley offers weakly.

Looking at Henley, Jack sighs sounding resigned. "I don't know why Daniel went off like that though, he seemed fine the entire time. Well, I mean, I can understand why he went off, but..." he trails of as he glances away from Henley.

"What exactly happened anyways?" Alma's heavily accented voice chimed in from the kitchen. She was probably making coffee which had become part of her routine when she stopped by the apartment. When Rhodes had 'business' to take care of, she would often spend her time at Henley's. Eventually she had come around enough to make herself comfortable, which was perfectly fine with Henley, who hated to play hostess. More often than not, the first thing she would do was brew a fresh pot. Alma always claimed that it was just a habit she picked up from being an Interpol agent.

"Daniel flipped his shit for no reason," Henley answered wearily.

Jack gave her a disapproving stare before disagreeing, "You know that's not true. He had plenty of reason."

"Oh really?" Henley gave the younger magician a steely gaze, but he didn't flinch away like most people normally did. "So what exactly justifies him insulting and attacking Merritt, Jack?"

"He's got your best interest in mind," Jack admitted a bit bashfully. "He's your friend and all; and he doesn't want to see you hurt."

Henley threw her hands up in mock defeat, feeling frustrated. "Is there really no one that thinks I can take care of myself?"

Alma had been peeking around the archway every so often during their short conversation waiting for something to tell her what had transpired in Jack's living room. "Of course, you can take care of yourself, Henley. It is just a man's instinct to try and protect those they believe to be weaker."

"It's a stupid instinct," Henley grumbled.

"Agreed. Though it is believed the female of the species is to be more deadly than the male," Alma rounded the corner with a mug of coffee in hand, she took a seat in the overstuffed chair in the corner of the room. "So perhaps that particular instinct is unfounded."

"Kipling, smart man," Jack mumbled, nodding.

"So will someone please explain to me why we witnessed Daniel hitting Merritt with no apparent provocation?" Alma questioned bluntly after long pause, her lilting voice carrying across the room loudly.

"Impeccable timing?" Jack joked, only to receive a displeased stare from the small, but intimidating French woman. Glancing over at the redhead, he found that he wasn't going to get any help in the situation as she had busied herself by messing with her phone. Sighing in defeat, Jack continued, "Okay, okay. He wasn't very happy with Henley ditching him to hang out with Merritt."

Alma turned her gaze to Henley. "You ditched Daniel?"

"No, I actually had plans with Merritt to begin with," Henley fell back on the lie she originally told to Danny and hope it stuck. "Daniel and I were just supposed to be talking about the information we had gathered so far. I had plans after that. There was no ditching involved."

"Not according to Daniel," Jack grinned. Henley rolled her eyes, but kept silent.

"So that's what he was angry about?" Alma concluded with disbelief. "That hardly seems to justify his actions."

"Oh, that's not even the tip of the iceberg," he laughed almost darkly. "You see, he's under the impression that Merritt is...after Henley and he feels like it's his gentlemanly duty to see to it that she's not taken advantage of."

"You cannot be serious," the blonde deadpanned as Henley tried to stifle her laughter next to Jack.

"Gentlemanly duty? Daniel?" Henley snickered to herself, ignored by the other two.

"Yeah, he's really on this kick about protecting her and everything, like he really thinks that Merritt's the bad guy or something," Jack added.

"And that somehow led up him punching Merritt in the face?" Alma continued, amusement seeping into her voice and a smile creeping onto her lips.

"Well, not exactly. We were waiting on Rhodes to finally show," he paused to give her an accusing glance to which Alma raised an eyebrow to. "So Daniel started talking to me about it. He honestly sounded a bit jealous. So when Henley goes and starts talking to Merritt, he gets a little annoyed. They start joking around and guess who get more annoyed? Well finally one of Merritt's taunts gets to him."

"Let me guess, it was one of...questionable undertones," Alma supplied.

"Well it is Merritt, after all, and he knows exactly what to say to get under someone's skin. And like he had intended, it got to Daniel. Maybe just a bit more than what he expected," Jack shrugged nonchalantly, his hand fidgeting with a small hole in the leg of his jeans. "More than anything, I think he's jealous. It is Daniel and he's one of those people that really likes getting attention."

"He'll be so disappointed when he finds out that his prodigy figured out that he gets off on being an attention whore," Henley lamented in mock pity, giving him a joking smile while Jack just back grinned in an almost guilty way. This left Alma to assess the situation

"Merritt must have picked up on the jealousy he felt," she pointed out thoughtfully after a long moment.

"Wouldn't surprise me. Merritt loves to use his 'mind tricks' on Danny. It always pushes his buttons," Henley added, adding air quotes with her fingers for emphasis.

"Though, to be fair to Daniel, I highly doubt he was jealous of mere attention," the blonde continued, giving Henley a knowing look. Henley took it in stride as she reacted maturely by giving an exaggerated scowl.

Jack let out a low chuckle "She's right, Henley. I may not be a mentalist, but a guy can tell when another guy still has feelings for a girl."

"Why can't you guys be the stereotypical, 'feelings are for the weak' type of men?" Henley groans. The room is suddenly filled with a mixture of melodic, soft giggles and low, smooth guffaws from her two companions.

"Hey, the two of you dated. You know how Daniel Atlas is; tough asshole on the outside and emotional asshole on the inside," Jack reminded her as soon as the laughter had died down.

Henley immediately glared at the man next to her. "I have told you and Merritt and Daniel a hundred times over. The two of us never dated. I was his assistant and that was the extent of our relationship." A sharp jab to Jack's ribs helped to enforce her point.

"Okay, but you know that the two of you wanted to date," Jack attempted a compromise, rubbing the spot on his side that throbbed slightly; but Henley's glare only intensified. "It was just that neither of you wanted to admit it. He didn't want to give up his showbiz lifestyle and you didn't want to be the girlfriend that seemed to only ride on his coattails.

"You've been talking to Merritt too much." Henley scowls, glaring at the younger magician. "I hope they do trash your apartment," she muttered and much to her dismay, the laughter started once more. With a groan of frustration, Henley dropped her head into her hands and waited for their amusement to subside.

"Now, now, Henley. This not Jack's fault," Alma offered soothingly, though the slightly delighted tone to her voice ruined the effect. "There's a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen. Why don't you have a cup and try to relax. Then we can continue this conversation in depth."

Henley took in the easy smile on the French woman's face and grin playing at the corners of her fellow Horsemen's lips with a sigh, nodding as she stood and forcing herself towards the kitchen. Upon entering , she ignored the coffee and headed straight to the fridge. Pulling out a dark bottle with a green label, she added a liberal amount of the creamy liqueur to the mug that had been left on the counter for her.

She muttered to herself as she topped the mug off with the steaming coffee, "I'm going to need something a lot stronger than coffee to put up with this."

* * *

**Hopefully, you guys enjoyed this installment and will read the next one as soon as it's published!**

**Thanks for reading.**


	5. Second Intermission(Backstage)

**consider it disclaimed.**

**enjoy.**

* * *

**.**

**.**

**second intermission**

**(backstage)**

**.**

**.**

* * *

"So the two of you are going to sit in silence rather than tell me what the hell is going on?" Dylan Rhodes paced between the two men, running a hand through his disheveled hair in exasperation. Atlas was glaring at the mentalist, while the mentalist was patiently watching him pace the floor. "You just joined the Eye and we still have too many months of planning for the Horseman to fall apart over some stupid comment or whatever start this. So someone better start clearing the air because now is not the time to pull this shit."

"He's the one that punched me. Ask him," Merritt supplied offhandedly. He knew it was childish to point fingers, but it was true. Rhodes sighed and turned to the younger magician with an expectant look.

Daniel ignored the look he was receiving and continued to glare at Merritt before addressing him with a sneer, "If you would just leave Henley out of your little mind games, none of this would have come to a head."

"And pray tell, what mind games are you referring to?" Merritt asked before the thought could even form in Dylan's mind.

"Taking advantage of her! She is a good person and you're exploiting that by messing with her head! You just—"

"How am I messing with her head?" annoyance laced into Merritt's voice as he interrupted Daniel's tirade. Rhodes sigh and resigned himself to a chair a little off to the side, it was better to let them talk it out by their own free will; but he would stay put in case someone decided it would be a good idea to punch another someone again.

"Flirting with her, hanging out like the two of you are friends, everything that you've been doing! Like what was the reason behind her being at your apartment until five in the morning?" Daniel inquired, almost yelling as his hands balled into fists.

Merritt had leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and his fingers tented as he studied at the younger magician. It took him a long moment to reply and his voice was almost startlingly soft. "Does it really bother you that much? Henley and I actually being friends? Or is it that you want a reason to be angry, to be jealous, since she's not spending all her time with you, like you want? Instead of admitting to the poor girl that you have feelings for her, that you've probably had feeling for her for awhile, you're claiming to be 'protecting' her as a friend, by trying to read too much into a situation that, need I remind you, isn't actually your business." His eyes had narrowed as he spoke, picking up the way Daniel had tensed at the mention of jealousy or his feelings and he knew he was right on the money.

"She is my friend and as her friend I care about and will try to protect her well being," Daniel managed after a pause, gritting his teeth. "She's too sensitive with relationships and sex to be strung along."

"If Henley decides to get into a relationship and have sex with anyone—be it me, Jack, Alma, or Hell, even Tressler—it isn't any of your business. Though I'm sure protection in the form of condoms would work, though I'm not sure how much they'd be appre—"

The metallic taste of blood filled Merritt's mouth as his teeth cut into the inside of his lip. He could feel the sting of a force inflicted gash on his bottom lip as blood trickled down his chin and slowly made it's way down his neck, seeping into the collar of his shirt.

As Daniel reared his fist to strike again, Rhodes reacted, tackling the younger man to the floor with annoyance etched into his features. Biting back a groan of pain, Merritt moved from the room with the intent for try and clean himself up in the bathroom.

Immediately, he spat out the thick blood that filled his mouth and worked to keep the bile down that was starting to ride at the back of his throat. Turning on the water, he managed to palm enough to swish in attempt to rid the bitter taste from his mouth. once he had spat that out too he splashed the cold water onto his face, wincing at the tenderness of his cheek and the throbbing in his lip.

Only then did he dare a glimpse of himself in the mirror and he couldn't help but to be a bit impressed with Atlas' handiwork. He had figured that the boy wouldn't be able to throw a punch. Then again, Merritt's pretty sure that Daniel fracture or broke something with the first punch, so it was stupid of him to further irritate the injury with the second, but that was his own fault. Leaning closer to the mirror, he inspected himself a bit closer. There was already the beginnings of a bruise staining his cheek, he was certain that by morning it will have spread and become a fairly dark, black eye. While his lip didn't look too bad: it was swollen, still bleeding slightly, and just flat out hurt like a bitch. He hoped Daniel's hand was hurting him just as much.

His shirt was a lost cause, there was no way he would be getting the blood out and he honestly didn't care. Maybe Rhodes would feel some pity and let them leave without finishing their conversation since he looked like shit at the moment. Merritt hoped, but he highly doubted it would actually happen. Another splash of water on his face to keep him alert and Merritt was headed back towards the living room.

Taking his previous spot, he watched with a raised brow as Dylan finished taping three of Daniel's fingers together. Merritt couldn't help but to grin smugly to himself. You could perform with a banged up face, but broken fingers? Not a chance.

Standing up, Dylan turned to assess him. A quick one over later, he was speaking again. "So I'm assuming this is about Henley?"

"You'd be guessing right," Merritt decided to cooperate, wincing as he spoke.

"And what exactly are you two fighting over Henley about?" he asked, disbelief and confusion across his face.

"Well I'm guessing," Merritt paused, putting emphasis on the fact that he wasn't really even sure himself. "That Mr. Atlas over there, thinks that his ex-assistant and I are having sex."

Aggravation got the best of Rhodes, as he had to close his eyes and sigh before continuing. "And he cares because he like Henley?"

"No. He loves Henley," he corrected the fifth Horseman. "But he's too much of a narcissist to have a chance and the fact that they're always at ends, well forget about it."

"This is bullshit." Dylan had taken his seat again, rubbing his eyes and feeling suddenly exhausted. It didn't matter if they were teenagers or seasoned magicians, there was always something that would come up and kill the dynamic. "I need a drink."

The two watched as Dylan stood and walked stiffly into the kitchen to locate the booze that wasn't present. Jack was still too young purchase alcohol, though if he ever wanted something, he would just head up to Henley's and borrow from her stash (not that anyone besides the two of them knew that). It took a couple of minutes and a few slammed cabinet doors, but Dylan walked stalked out of the kitchen.

And straight towards the front door. With his hand on the know he turned back to regard the two of them.

"I will be back in ten minutes. Either you two talk this out or kill each other, whichever happens first," he practically growled and slammed the door behind them. When he reached the elevator, he gave a sigh and hoped that had worked so when he got back they could have a cold drink and actually talk about their next big trick.

"You care about her. I get that, Jack gets that, and everyone else in the world gets that. Except Henley," Merritt starts once he realizes Daniel planned to sit in silence until Rhodes got back. "But you're acting like a child that doesn't want anyone else playing with a toy. You're fine with playing with it and then letting it sit while you play with something else, but the moment someone else want to play with it you take personal insult and declare war."

"I am not acting like a child," Daniel muttered defensively.

"Okay. Fine, an overprotective father then," Merritt sighed, throwing his hand up in agitation.

"At least I'm not old enough to be her father," is the defiant response.

"More like older uncle," Merritt corrected cheekily, unable to help the upwards quirk of his lips. Daniel gave him a curious look.

"So you two didn't have sex?" he asks sounding unsure of wanting to actually know the answer. Merritt groaned inwardly, guilt filling him even though he had done nothing of the sort (though he had wanted to).

"We didn't have sex, okay?" Merritt confirmed. "We got drunk and played card games until about three in the morning. She passed out on the couch and I fell asleep on the floor. I woke up a little before five and woke her up to tell her to take the bed. She took a shot of whiskey and a piece of toast and left hungover. Nothing to worry your pretty head over," he finished dryly, giving Daniel a bored look.

"Oh."

"Even if we had, your best bet would be to let it go. Henley's allowed to do what she wants and it's going to happen someday. You had better believe if you keep acting like this, that it won't be you," Merritt offers, trying to remove the crestfallen look from Daniel's face even though he had just busted his lip and blackened his eye. The kid look...miserable.

"I do care for her," Daniel sighed, frowning.

"I know."

"Have for awhile. Since she was my assistant, but I always mess everything up with her. Henley's...difficult for me," he admitted.

"Knowing Henley, she means to be difficult for everyone," shrugging, Merritt points out casually and Daniel chuckles, nodding his head in agreement.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting to see if Rhodes was actually going to come back or if, perhaps, Jack would venture back first since he does live there. In their minds, both were betting on Rhodes before Jack even though there was some doubt that Dylan would come back at all tonight. They don't wait long to see that they are right, but are surprised that Dylan was only gone for ten minutes like he promise.

"So I see both of you are still alive and no one is bleeding. Am I wrong to assume the best of this situation?" Dylan closes the door with his foot and heads towards the kitchen toting the case of beer he had purchased.

"Assume whatever you like as long as I get one of those," Merritt replies easily, sharing a lazy smile with the younger magician who rolls his eyes. Rhodes re-enters the room, carrying three cans and stops to give them a look.

"Shake on it and you get a beer," he deadpans and gives them both an expectant look. They exchange a look and both of them sigh, standing and shifting awkwardly before stepping towards each other and clasping hands briefly. Merritt had to quash the urge to extend for Daniel's injured one hand.

"You're still an asshole," Daniel commented, letting go of his hand and grabbing the proffered can from Rhodes.

"And you're still a dick," Merritt agreed cheerfully, taking his own beer and holding it against his still throbbing lip.

"Sorry about that, by the way," Daniel offered nonchalantly, popping the tab on his beer and taking a long drink.

"I'm not sorry about your hand."

"You know what?" Dylan interrupted before they decided to overdo it again, both of the rooms occupants glanced at him questioningly. "I'd say this is good enough."

* * *

**Let me know what you think.**  
**I'm getting some sleep since I smashed this one out right after the last one. (Idk, i guess i felt like the Intermission should be posted on the same night? Don't ask me questions.)**

**Reviews are always appreciated, but either way, thank you for reading!**


End file.
